六祖大師法寶壇經 1.134

1.134

There was a novice named Shenhui, a native of the Gao clan of Xiangyang. At the age of thirteen, he came from Yuquan to pay homage. The Master said: 'Kalyāṇamitra, having come from afar with hardship, did you bring along the root? If you have the root, you should know the master. Try speaking of it.' Shenhui said: 'Taking non-abiding as the root, seeing is the master.' The Master said: 'How can this novice utter such casual words?' Shenhui then asked: 'When the upādhyāya sits in meditation, do you see or not see?' The Master struck him three times with his staff and said: 'Does it hurt or not hurt when I strike you?' He answered: 'It both hurts and does not hurt.' The Master said: 'I also both see and do not see.' Shenhui asked: 'What is it to both see and not see?' The Master said: 'What I see is that I always see the faults of my own mind, and do not see the right, wrong, good, or bad of others; this is why I both see and do not see. What do you mean by saying "it both hurts and does not hurt"? If you do not feel pain, you are identical to wood and stone; if you feel pain, then you are identical to an ordinary person and immediately give rise to anger and resentment. What you said before about seeing and not seeing are the two extremes, and hurting and not hurting are arising and ceasing. You do not even see your own svabhāva, yet you dare play tricks on others!' Shenhui bowed and repented his fault. The Master said further: 'If your mind is deluded and you do not see, ask a kalyāṇamitra to seek the way. If your mind is awakened, you will directly see your nature and practice according to the Dharma. Being deluded yourself and not seeing your own mind, you yet come and ask whether I see or not. What I see, I know for myself; how could it substitute for your delusion? If you see for yourself, you also do not substitute for my delusion. Why do you not know and see for yourself, rather than asking whether I see or not?' Shenhui bowed again more than a hundred times, seeking forgiveness for his fault. He served with diligent attendance, never leaving the Master's presence.